Zen is a form of Buddhism that originated in
China in the sixth century and has gone through much development and change in
Japan since it arrived there during the twelfth century. Its teachings
affected many traditional Japanese art forms, among them flower arranging,
painting, calligraphy, and the martial arts, including, or course, karate.

Zen stresses the importance of living our daily
lives to the fullest. To do this, we must be able to see the world around
us in its true form at each moment in time. Our perceptions, however, are
influenced by our own biases. Only by understanding ourselves can we
understand our biases, and thereby truly observe reality. Zen also
practices self-reflection through meditation. Knowing just this much about
Zen, you can recognize its influence on karate, in the practice of Mokuso, for
instance.

According to Zen, enlightenment is the attainment
of emptiness or nothingness. This nothingness, however, does not mean that
you no longer exist. Rather, it is like a mirror, which reflects
everything, and leaves nothing of itself, even though it is still there.
If you can see reality as it is without bias, just as a mirror reflects its
surroundings, you have achieved enlightenment.

Recognizing your own biases, however, is by no
means easy. For example, there was once a karate student who was extremely
skilled. One day a common street thug insulted him, and the student fought
back and beat the thug badly.

But when is teacher learned of the incident, he
scolded the student for using karate without discretion. In his defense,
the student said that he did not provoke the fight. The thug had insulted
him and he was only defending his honor. "I see," said the teacher.
"Then if I insulted you in the same way, you would fight me as well?"

The student quickly replied, "Oh, no, Sensei.
Your skills in karate are far superior to my own. I would never be able to
defeat you."

The teacher shook his head. "then it would seem,"
he said, "you fought this poor man only because you knew you could defeat him."

When the student realized he had deluded himself
into believing he had fought for his own honor when in truth he used his skills
in karate out of conceit and pride, he bowed and humbly asked for his teacher's
forgiveness. Because karate can be a destructive force when not used
properly, it is very important to constantly reflect on yourself and your
actions as you continue your studies.